The present invention relates, in general, to fluid quick connector assemblies which couple male and female connector components and, more specifically, to fluid quick connectors having a retainer which locks the male connector component in the female connector component.
Snap-fit or quick connectors are employed in a wide range of applications, particularly, for joining fluid carrying conduits in automotive and industrial application. In a typical quick connector with an axially displaceable retainer, the retainer is fixedly mounted within a bore in a housing of a female connector component or element. The retainer has a plurality of radially and angularly extending legs which extend inwardly toward the axial center line of the bore in the housing. A tube or male fitting to be sealingly mounted in the bore in the female component includes a radially upset portion or flange which abuts an inner peripheral surface of the retainer legs. Seal and spacer members as well as a bearing or top hat are typically mounted in the bore ahead of the retainer to form a seal between the housing and the male fitting when the male fitting is lockingly engaged with the retainer legs.
Radially displaceable retainers in which the retainer is radially displaceable through aligned bores or apertures formed transversely to the main through bore in the female component or housing are also known. The radially displaceable retainer is typically provided with a pair of depending legs which are sized and positioned to slip behind the radially upset portion or flange on the male conduit only when the male connector or conduit is fully seated in the bore in the female connector. This ensures a positive locking engagement of the conduit with the female connector as well as providing an indication that the conduit is fully seated since the radially displaceable retainer can be fully inserted into the female connector only when the conduit has been fully inserted into the bore in the female connector.
Regardless of the type of retainer, the female housing or component portion of a fluid connector typically includes an elongated stem having one or more annular barbs spaced from a first end. The barbs provide secure engagement with a hose or conduit which is forced over the barbs to connect the female housing with one end of the conduit.
Due to the secure engagement between the conduit and the female component, the open end of the axial through bore in the female connector portion of a fluid connector designed with an axially displaceable retainer or the transverse bores in a female connector designed to receive a radially displaceable retainer are fixed in one circumferential position depending upon the position of the tubing and the female connector when the tubing and female connector are joined together. In certain applications, this could limit accessibility to and make it difficult to insert the retainer into the female component, particularly in the case of a radial retainer. Interference with surrounding components frequently makes access to the quick connector for both locking or unlocking operations difficult, if not impossible.
Thus, it would be desirable to provide a fluid quick connector which overcomes the problems of previously devised quick connectors with respect to ease of insertion of the retainer into the quick connector while still providing all of the required attributes of a fluid quick connecter in terms of sealing and locking engagement between the conduits and the quick connector. It would also be desirable to provide such a fluid quick connector which achieves the aforementioned advantages without requiring significant modification to existing, proven quick connector designs. It would also be desirable to provide a fluid quick connector which is easily rotatable over 360xc2x0 to facilitate insertion or removal of the retainer into or out of the quick connector.
The present invention is a quick connector for joining first and second conduits in fluid flow communication in which the retainer receiving portion of the quick connector can be rotated or swivelled over a complete 360xc2x0 range to facilitate easy access to the retainer or the retainer receiving portion of the quick connector for insertion into or removal of the retainer from the quick connector housing.
In one aspect of the invention, the present quick connector includes a first housing having a through bore with a first bore portion adapted for receiving a first end of a first conduit. Seal elements are mounted in the first bore portion for sealing the first housing to the first end of the first conduit. A second housing is rotatably and non-axially displaceably connected to the first housing. The second housing has a through bore for receiving the first conduit therethrough. A retainer is mountable in the second housing for lockingly coupling the first conduit to the first housing.
In a specific aspect of the invention, the first housing includes an enlarged end flange which is rotatably positioned adjacent an annular shoulder or flange at one end of the second housing, with a major extent of the first housing projecting through the aperture in the one end of the second housing. In one version, the first housing is inserted through the first end of the second housing until the flange engages the shoulder. In another version, the enlarged flange and the end of the first housing are provided with a plurality of slots which allow portions of the end flange and the adjacent portion of the first housing to flex radially inward for insertion through the open second end of the second housing until the enlarged flange snaps radially outward to its nominal diameter after passing the annular shoulder at the end of the second housing.
The first and second housings are held in a rotatable position by means of a rigid member or top hat which is disposed in the bore in the first housing. In one aspect, the top hat includes one or more axially projecting legs having hooks or projections at a distal end which engage apertures formed in the end of the second housing to fixedly latch the top hat to the second housing and rotatably trapping the enlarged flange on the first housing between a flange on the top hat and the shoulder in the second housing. In another aspect, an enlarged flange on the top hat is press fit in locked relationship to the second housing.
In another aspect of the invention, the rigid member or top hat has an annular recess extending from one end which is sized to receive the enlarged flange on the first conduit therein. This places the first conduit flange axially ahead of the transverse bore through the second housing thereby enabling the retainer to be formed with generally flat end surfaces which engage the flange on the first conduit to prevent axial separation of the first conduit from the first housing.
In another aspect of the invention, a web is formed in one of the large apertures forming the transverse bore in the housing and divides the large aperture into two smaller apertures each receiving an end portion of one of the side legs of the retainer. The web limits radially inward flexing of the end portion of the side legs of the retainer during removal of the retainer to prevent damage to the retainer caused by excessive flexing. At the same time, the web does not interfere with the normal insertion and operation of the retainer.
In another aspect of the invention, usable with the present dual housing assembly or a single housing, the tip end of one housing is formed with a plurality of radially outward extending projections or ribs which forcibly engage the inner surface of the flexible conduit mounted thereover. The projections prevent rotation between the flexible conduit and the housing which could lead to the formation of leakage paths between the flexible conduit and the housing and/or separation of the flexible conduit from the housing.
In another aspect, a cap is mounted on the tip end of the housing to facilitate a smooth connection of the tip end of the housing and the flexible conduit. The cap includes a cooperating projection and recess formed within the interior of the bore of the cap and on the tip end of the housing to snap mount the cap on the housing.
The rotatable quick connector of the present invention overcomes a disadvantage frequently encountered with previously designed quick connectors incorporating a releasably mountable retainer wherein the use position of the quick connector may be adjacent to another component to hereby limiting access for insertion or removal of the retainer in the housing. The quick connector of the present invention uniquely provides a rotatable quick connector housing assembly which enables the retainer receiving housing of the quick connector to be rotated over a full 360xc2x0 range to facilitate easy access to the retainer mounted in the rotatable housing. However, at the same time, the quick connector with rotatable features maintains all of the functions and advantages of a standard quick connector in terms of easy insertion of a conduit therein and high pullout forces locking the conduit in the quick connector.
The quick connector of the present invention also provides other advantages over previously devised quick connectors. The top hat mounted in the housing assembly is also usable in a conventional quick connector with a single housing and includes an annular recess at one end for receiving the enlarged flange on the conduit. This enables the retainer to be simply formed with generally flat ends on the side legs for insertion through the transverse bore in the female component housing and engagement with the enlarged flange on the conduit.